Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 218

Chapter 218

Jackson

Noah slid into the seat next to mine like nothing had happened.

Which was impressive, considering five minutes earlier he’d been wrapped around my sister in the middle of the hallway like this was some kind of after–school special.

I didn’t say anything at first. Just watched him pull out his notebook, tap his pen twice, and pretend the room wasn’t buzzing the way it always did when something new hit the social food chain.

Finally, I leaned back in my chair and muttered, “Since when do you do PDA?”

He sighed like he’d been expecting it. “This school?” he said quietly. “You kind of have to.”

I snorted. “Wow. Didn’t take you for the ‘play the system‘ type.‘

He glanced sideways at me. “Neither did I.”

I waited for him to say more. He did.

“And,” he added, voice lower, “I liked it this morning.”

I grimaced instantly. “I don’t need to know that. That’s my sister, remember?”

He smirked, unapologetic. “Pretty hard to forget when her twin is glaring at me like he’s calculating bail money.”

I shook my head, but there was no real heat behind it. Truth was, I’d seen Jessa this morning. Really seen her. The way she laughed when Noah caught her off guard. The way she didn’t shrink back when people looked.

That hadn’t happened before.

“Still,” I said, “this place? It’s ridiculous. If it’s not on I*******m, it didn’t happen. If you’re not obvious, people make up their own story.”

Noah nodded. “Exactly.”

The bell rang, cutting off anything else I might’ve said. Class started, but neither of us paid attention. My mind kept circling back to the same thing: how fast everything had shifted.

A month ago, Noah and I were just teammates. Best friends. Same routines. Same goals.

Now he was dating my sister.

And somehow, that didn’t feel like the worst thing in the world.

Halfway through class, I caught myself glancing at him again. He was scribbling something in the margin of his notebook, jaw tight, like he was thinking too hard about something.

I cleared my throat. “So.”

“So,” he echoed.

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Chapter 212

+25 Bonus

I stared at the whiteboard for a second before saying it. “My mom won’t be home.”

He paused mid–word. “What?”

I turned my head and looked him straight in the eye. “My mom won’t be there when you’re at the house later. She’s working.”

Noah blinked. Once. Twice. “Okay?”

“I’m just saying,” I continued, keeping my voice even, “she won’t be there. But I will be.”

Something in my tone must’ve landed, because his expression shifted from confusion to understanding

“Oh,” he said slowly. “Jackson. Dude. I’m not ”

“I know,” I cut in. “I know you’re not.”

end

He studied my face, like he was checking for sarcasm or threat. “Then why are you telling me?”

“Because I’m her brother,” I said. “And because I trust you. Those two things don’t cancel each other out.”

He exhaled, tension easing out of his shoulders. “Nothing stupid is happening. I promise.”

+25 Bonus

What I didn’t say was how strange it felt to watch my sister step into something good while I was still learning how to let go of the idea that I was supposed to control everything around her.

I’d spent so long thinking I had to be her shield. That if I didn’t watch closely enough, something bad would happen.

But maybe this wasn’t about guarding anymore.

Maybe it was about trusting.

Later that afternoon, when Noah headed toward the parking lot and I toward practice, he paused and called my

name.

“Hey,” he said. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“For trusting me,” he said simply.

I nodded once. “Don’t make me regret it.”

He didn’t smile this time. He just said, “I won’t,” and meant it.

As I watched him walk away, I realized something else too–something I hadn’t expected.

This wasn’t just about Noah and Jessa.

This was about me learning how to be her brother in a new way.

Not the protector.

Not the gatekeeper.

Just… her twin.

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